


Ritual

by sp00kworm



Category: GHOST - Fandom, Ghost (Sweden Band), Ghost (Swedish Band), Ghost BC
Genre: Dark, Demon AU, Demons, F/M, Ghouls are not human, Gore, Horror, How to tame your ghoul, Masks, Mild Gore, Mild Horror, Papa Nil's spooky basement of baby ghouls, Pentagrams, Satanism, Sigils, pseudo-cannibalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 04:41:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14730126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp00kworm/pseuds/sp00kworm
Summary: Cardinal Copia may have been chosen as the new leader of the church, but to truly be accepted into the role he must first tame his own Ghouls. If he fails, his fate will be to be the next grisly meals of the lesser demons or he will suffer the humiliation of having no band to play with.





	Ritual

Ghouls were something the Cardinal had never seen before. They were reserved creatures that weren’t often seen in the hallways of the chapel. When the little demons were seen, it was with their respective Papa, their master. A few times, the cardinal had heard them speak in twisted tongues to one another, hissing beneath the masks that hid their terrifying faces. Normal looking eyes would sometimes look at him as he tried to get through the halls to his duties, but outside of seeing them in passing, he had never spoken to them outright. The newly appointed head of Ghost shuffled from foot to foot as he stood outside of the entrance to the lower levels of the chapel. Decked in his red ceremonial robes he took a few breaths before raising his hand and knocking a few times on the door.

The old wood absorbed most of the noise and Copia took another deep breath, fiddling with the rings over his gloves as he waited for the door to be opened. After a few beats, the door creaked open and the Grand Papa stood before him, white clouded eyes squinting to make out the image of the cardinal stood before him. A strange smile appeared on the old mans lips as he gestured for Copia to follow him as he entered back into a long dark corridor and began descending the steps, leaving a confused Copia by the door. Looking around him the Cardinal quickly followed and swallowed as the door slammed closed behind him. He rushed to keep pace with Papa Nihil and looked at the stone walls for any sign of where they were going.  
Copia coughed softly into his hand, “Grand Papa, just where is it that we are going, if I may ask?” His mismatched eyes stared at the back of the elderly Papa. He received no reply from the man until they paused in front of another large heavy door. 

“This is how we will find out whether you are truly…cut out for leadership.” Nil raised a finger to point at the door at the end of the corridor where the torches flickered, “Behind that door is your Ghouls. You must be able to control them in order to lead.” Nil lowered his hands and linked them together beneath the long sleeves of his robes, “Fail to do so, and your fate will be cruel.” The old man was smiling far too much, and Cardinal Copia felt dread fill his stomach as he looked over at the huge door again. Wringing his hands, he gave a small nod and slowly walked towards the end of the hall, adjusting his hat nervously as he went.

The imposing door was covered in carvings, the symbols chipped into the wood and the grooves painted with something red. Copia blinked and rubbed at the black around his eyes as he saw the symbols pulsate, the red glowing in the dim light. Satanic scribblings were carved into a plate and Copia squinted, running his gloved finger over the writings, whispering the words as he read them. The symbols around the wooden door glowed brighter as the Cardinal finished reading the runes and the door groaned before slamming open with a gust of wind. The wind howled down the corridor and Copia jumped away from the door. He turned to look back at Papa Nihil only to find no one there, only shadows where the torches had gone out where the old man had been stood. The Cardinal swallowed thickly, fear coiling in his gut tightly, before taking a step forwards over the threshold of the darkened room before him. Another step forwards and the door creaked closed behind him, the lock clicking into place. Copia flinched and looked ahead as the torches in front of him lit up with dancing bright blue flames. Steeling his nerves, he took another couple of steps and watched as the torches flickered and the next lit up as the last pair went out. The new leader took calming breaths, wringing his hands as he walked.

The blue flames danced over the cold stone and Copia tried not to flinch every time they flickered out and danced to the next pair of torches. The further he got along the corridor the more the walls appeared to close in around him. Red symbols began to appear again and Copia muttered them as he walked, his cassock swirling around his legs with the breeze that had stirred up the closer he seemingly got to the end. It felt as though he had been walking for an eternity when he finally reached a dark open room. The torches flickered and blew out before light exploded in a hearth on the left wall of the room. Light was thrown across the room and Copia took another step forward, his hand on the damp stone wall as he glanced around. There was no one, and the Cardinal stepped further into the room, breathing deeply to try and calm his nerves as the fire crackled and spat sparks from the fire pit. A breeze washed over him and Copia shivered, turning his back to the room to look at the long corridor. A growl sounded behind him which made his spine curl.

Whipping around, the new leader let out a small gasp. Shadowy creatures had appeared in the room, their faces a blur of swirling darkness with protruding black horns. Teeth glistened within the shadows and eyes of bright colours opened, reflecting in the dim light. The creatures clicked and grumbled to one another and the beast stood in front of him tilted its head to listen, pointed ears flicking towards the whispers of the other creatures. The purple eyes of the creature in front of him glowed as it growled again, teeth snapping centimetres from Copia’s nose. The Cardinal swallowed, eyes wide with fright as the Ghouls hustled closer to one another and hissed and spat before looking at him and letting their faces form. Eyes were set in black coloured faces with short black horns that curled slightly back over their heads. Five male and two female ghouls. The rest stood in a cluster behind the purple eyed ghoul, eyeing the new comer with glowing eyes. The two girls linked their arms and snickered clicking to one another as the ghoul in front of Copia growled threateningly again. 

The Cardinal looked at the creatures again before listening to their whispers, frowning as words formed in the hissing. They were speaking in a dark tongue to one another, hissing and spitting the syllables.  
“Why is he here, brother? Ask him. He is not part of the blood line. He is no Emeritus.” The taller female ghoul hissed at the ghoul in front of him, her white eyes glowing brilliantly as her fingers curled in the air. A breeze whooshed over Copia, knocking his hat off centre.  
“He is not listening to me, sister. He’s not a descendant of the blood line, he cannot understand Ghoulish.” The purple-eyed ghoul clicked back to his sister with pointed teeth snarling at the man in front of him.   
Copia coughed into his leather glove and held up his hand to the creatures, “I am no Emeritus, but I can understand you all perfectly fine. Ghoulish was something I learnt in my spare time, I wasn’t blessed and born with the understanding like the blood line.” The Ghouls’ heads twitched as they stared at him, heads spinning left and right as they took in the form of the Cardinal.

The Ghoul in front of him rushed forwards again, teeth snapping by his cheek, saliva flying onto Copia’s skin as the demon hissed and spat at him, “You have no right to speak to us, Cardinal. The blood of the damned saints does not course through you. You have no power and no right to control us.” The Ghouls hissed and spat, their tails batting around their legs at the group split away and moved into the room towards the shadowed corners. The purple eyed Ghoul tilted it’s head again and grumbled still stalking around the Cardinal, it’s tail flicking and claws bared ready to attack.  
“Tell me why I shouldn’t tear you apart and feed you to my brothers and sisters, human.” It snarled and circled him again, grumbling as it sized him up.  
The Cardinal took a calming breath before speaking, “You will listen to me creatures,” He watched the Ghouls in the corners pull bodies from the shadows. They clicked and snarled to one another before tearing chunks from the flesh gleefully. Blood dripped onto the stone and the Cardinal swallowed, “I am not of the blood line, but this leadership was bestowed upon me by the unholy father, your creator and your father. You will listen to me.”

The Ghouls in the room chewed on their food, pairs of multi-coloured eyes looking at the standoff. The Ghoul circling him growled, taking a threatening step forward. Copia clutched the reversed cross around his neck and caught the Ghoul’s head as it launched itself at him. The Ghoul howled in his grasp, thrashing as it was forced to it’s knees. Copia muttered the words of the unholy father, a sealing spell to control the creature’s powers, and a sigil glowed beneath the Ghoul’s knees. The Ghoul curled it’s hands and Copia caught sight of the shadows manifesting and shooting towards him. He closed his eyes as the tendrils wrapped around him and squeezed before forming a dome around him and the Ghoul. Purple eyes glared at him and the creature screamed beneath his hand as he continued to chant the sealing spell. Convulsing the Ghoul howled, claws slamming into the Cardinal’s arms as it tried to break free, the shadows moving in tighter and raking at Copia. The Cardinal held his cross tighter and opened his eyes, the two different coloured orbs staring into the Ghoul’s wild eyes as he finished the seal. The Ghoul roared and clawed at its head as its shadowed face was blurred and torn away as a mask formed over it, molten metal pouring upwards from the floor and shaping into a tight mask over the creature’s face. The symbol for Aether was burned into the metal of the forehead and the Ghoul’s black claws chipped against the metal, purple eyes burning in the holes as Copia released his cross and watched the Ghoul writhe on the floor. 

With a hiss the Aether Ghoul stopped moving and panted, steam rising from it’s face as the metal cooled to a shinned steal. The Ghoul opened its eyes and grumbled, pushing itself up on its forearms with a hiss. Teeth snapped beneath the mask and Copia watched the creature feel at its own face. The other Ghouls looked on in horror, blood dripping from their mouths as they realised that the man before them was the new leader.   
“Is that proof enough for you?” Copia hissed at them, folding his hands together behind his back as he glanced at the creatures crouched over the mutilated corpses of their latest victims. “ I may not have the blood of the unholy saints, but I have power enough to force you to obey me creatures.” Copia held his hand out for the creatures and the first Ghoul to walk towards him, blood dripping from its maws, was a small blue-eyed creature. It whispered quietly to him, tilting its head as the symbol for water was carved into its mask. It made no noise but stared at the cardinal in the eyes as it was blessed with its own mask, they closed as the spell was sealed with blood. Water carefully moved over to Aether, face still steaming as it helped the larger Ghoul to its feet. 

The female Ghouls danced closer next, tittering to one another as they knelt before the Cardinal, their hair falling over their eyes as they looked up at him. A large pentagram glowed beneath them both as the Cardinal chanted and the molten metal splashed onto their demonic faces, sealing white eyes in shined metal with beautiful curls of metallic hair, the symbol of Air flashing across their heads. They tittered as the metal cooled, falling forward on their hands as they struggled to withstand the pain. Linking arms, they helped each other stand before moving towards Water and Aether, helping Water get the drained Ghoul onto his feet. Aether’s head lolled to one side as the shadows around him tremored. A green-eyed Ghoul was next and the confident creature puffed out its chest as the Cardinal sealed its face, moss grew beneath the fingertips pressed to the stone as the symbol of Earth burned into the metal before cooling and disappearing. Earth growled as the metal seared and sealed, walking over to his brothers and sisters with hands full of charcoaled moss. 

A Ghoul with strange golden eyes came over next and the Cardinal frowned as the metal burned closed and no symbol burned into the creature’s head, only a ring formed but as fast as the Cardinal blinked it was gone. The Ghoul grinned beneath his mask and grumbled, itching at the metal around it’s face as it joined the others. The last Ghoul stood in front of him sheepishly, its eyes dodging to and from his brethren and Copia. Copia smiled and placed his hand softly on the Ghoul’s head, forcing him to his knees gently. The red eyes looked up at him, teeth clenched as the tail behind him slapped against the floor as the molten metal poured over his face. The Ghoul hissed and reached to touch the metal only to have the Cardinal grab his hand and finish the incantation. The symbol of fire burned brightly, and the Ghoul huffed, falling forwards onto the stone, finger twitching with twinges of pain. The Cardinal took a deep breath and ushered his creatures together, the glistening masks looking at him with shadowed eyes. He grinned and began walking down the corridor. The Ghouls bustled behind him tittering and snickering, poking fun at the poor exhausted Aether Ghoul.

The door at the end of the corridor was open and the Cardinal strode through it, his head held high as his small congregation of Ghoul’s followed, grumbling at the brighter light as they filed around him, looking at the walls, their tails flicking back and forth, heads tilting curiously. Papa Nihil stood by the stairs, Sister Imperator talking to him in a hushed tone, they both looked up as the Cardinal appeared, and with a full band of Ghouls. Papa Nihil’s face grew serious as he looked at the demonic creatures and he looked to the Sister who only grinned, her face a picture of mischief.   
“I have done as you asked, Grand Papa, the Ghoul’s are mine.” He smiled and swept an arm out to the creatures. They had all quickly straightened up in the presence of the head of the bloodline, still holding the Aether Ghoul up under the arms. They smiled at the old man and the Cardinal nodded approvingly at his little group.  
“Yes, Cardinal, it appears you have done as asked.” The Grand Papa hummed, and the Sister cut in.  
“Well, yes, now that this nasty business is sorted, lets go and get you all outfitted and ready.” The Sister ushered the Cardinal ahead and Papa Nihil followed grumpily, softly petting his favourite little Ghoul creatures.

**Author's Note:**

> I worked pretty hard on this one for a change. I'm loving the new Ghouls even if everyone is still butthurt about the Meloria Ghouls. I hope you enjoyed and feedback is very much appreciated.


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